Product identification system and method

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for identifying and tracking products in a material handling system and/or for identifying and handling product defects in a material handling system are provided. An example method may include receiving one or more articles in the material handling system; capturing one or more images of the one or more articles; identifying at least one visual defect indicator on at least one article of the one or more articles; and determining an indication corresponding to at least one of a defect of the at least one article or a portion of the material handling system causing the defect.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/747,871, filed on Oct. 19, 2018, the entire contentof which is incorporated by reference into the present application.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Example embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methodsand apparatuses associated with a material handling system.

BACKGROUND

Product identification schemes are essential components of high-volumedistribution and fulfillment operations. Generally, a distributioncenter may receive a large number of diverse products for handlingand/or storing. Identifying and tracking of these products (includingthose that may be damaged or deformed while in transit within thedistribution center) throughout the handling and/or storage operationmay be essential to maximize accuracy and efficiency of the distributioncenter. However, existing methods and systems fail to provide anaccurate and effective way of identifying and tracking these products.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the present disclosure. This summary isnot an extensive overview and is intended to neither identify key orcritical elements nor delineate the scope of such elements. Its purposeis to present some concepts of the described features in a simplifiedform as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presentedlater.

According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, a method isprovided. The method may include receiving the one or more articles inthe material handling system; capturing one or more images of the one ormore articles; identifying, based at least on the one or more images, atleast one visual defect indicator on at least one article of the one ormore articles; and determining, based at least on the at least onevisual defect indicator, an indication corresponding to at least one ofa defect of the at least one article or a portion of the materialhandling system causing the defect.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,identifying the at least one visual defect indicator may comprise:comparing a first image of the at least one article at a first portionof the material handling system with a second image of the at least onearticle at a second portion of the material handling system; identifyingone or more differences between the first image and the second image;and classifying the one or more differences as the at least one visualdefect indicator based at least on one or more preexisting defecttemplates.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, themethod may further comprise identifying at least a portion between thefirst portion and the second portion as the portion of the materialhandling system causing the defect.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,identifying the at least one visual defect indicator may compriseprocessing the one or more images to detect one or more preexistingindicia placed on the at least one article.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, themethod may further comprise modifying, based on the indication, at leastone system variable associated with the material handling system.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the atleast one system variable may be associated with the portion of thematerial handling system causing the defect.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the atleast one system variable may comprise at least one merge variableassociated with a merge portion of the material handling system.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, themethod may further comprise determining, based on the indication, atleast a sortation destination associated with the at least one article.In some examples, the sortation destination associated with the at leastone article is different from at least one sortation destinationassociated with other articles of the one or more articles.

According to at least another aspect of the present disclosure, anapparatus is provided. The apparatus may comprise at least one processorand at least one non-transitory memory comprising program code. The atleast one non-transitory memory and the program code may be configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:cause a material handling system to receive one or more articles; causecapturing of one or more images of the one or more articles; identify,based at least on the one or more images, at least one visual defectindicator on at least one article of the one or more articles; anddetermine, based at least on the at least one visual defect indicator,an indication corresponding to at least one of a defect of the at leastone article or a portion of the material handling system causing thedefect.

According to at least another aspect of the present disclosure, acomputer program product is provided. The computer program product maycomprise at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code portions stored therein. Thecomputer-readable program code portions may comprise an executableportion configured to: cause a material handling system to receive oneor more articles; cause capturing of one or more images of the one ormore articles; identify, based at least on the one or more images, atleast one visual defect indicator on at least one article of the one ormore articles; and determine, based at least on the at least one visualdefect indicator, an indication corresponding to at least one of adefect of the at least one article or a portion of the material handlingsystem causing the defect.

According to at least another aspect of the present disclosure, a methodfor tracking one or more articles in a material handling system isprovided. The method may include receiving at least one article on aninduction portion of the material handling system; capturing, by avision system of the material handling system, one or more images of theat least one article; identifying, by a central controller communicablycoupled to the vision system, at least one unique characteristic of theat least one article from the one or more images captured by the visionsystem; and associating, by the central controller, the at least oneunique characteristic of the at least one article with a unique productidentifier (UPID) for the at least one article.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, themethod may include tracking the at least one article through thematerial handling system using the UPID.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,identifying the at least one unique characteristic may includeprocessing the one or more images captured by the vision system todetect one or more visual identifiers present on the at least onearticle.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,identifying the at least one unique characteristic may includeprocessing the one or more images captured by the vision system todetect at least one preexisting indicia placed on the at least onearticle.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,associating the at least one unique characteristic of the at least onearticle with the UPID may include the central controller comparing theat least one unique characteristic with one or more preexisting imagescomprising unique characteristics data, stored in a database associatedwith the central controller; identifying at least one preexisting imagecomprising unique characteristics data corresponding to the at least oneunique characteristic; determining a UPID, stored in the database,associated with the preexisting image; and associating the UPID with theat least one unique characteristic of the at least one article.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a materialhandling system for handling one or more articles received on thematerial handling system is provided. The material handling system mayinclude a central controller, and a vision system communicably coupledto the central controller. The vision system may include one or morecameras for capturing one or more images of at least one article of theone or more articles. The central controller may identify at least oneunique characteristic of the at least one article from the one or moreimages captured by the vision system, and may associate the at least oneunique characteristic with a unique product identifier (UPID) for the atleast one article.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontroller may further determine one or more product parametersassociated with the at least one article based on the UPID, and adjustat least one system variable associated with the material handlingsystem based on the one or more product parameters.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method foroperating a merge in a material handling system is provided. The methodmay include receiving at least one article on an induction portion ofthe material handling system. The induction portion may be downstream ofthe merge.

The method may include capturing, by a vision system of the materialhandling system, one or more images of the at least one article;identifying, by a central controller communicably coupled to the visionsystem and the merge, at least one unique characteristic of the at leastone article from the one or more images captured by the vision system;associating, by the central controller, the at least one uniquecharacteristic of the at least one article with a unique productidentifier (UPID) for the at least one article; determining, by thecentral controller, one or more product parameters associated with theat least one article based on the UPID; and adjusting, by the centralcontroller, at least one merge variable associated with the merge basedon the one or more product parameters.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method foroperating a sorter in a material handling system is provided. The methodmay include receiving at least one article on an induction portion ofthe material handling system. The induction portion may be upstream ofthe sorter.

The method may include capturing, by a vision system of the materialhandling system, one or more images of the at least one article;identifying, by a central controller communicably coupled to the visionsystem and the sorter, at least one unique characteristic of the atleast one article from the one or more images captured by the visionsystem; associating, by the central controller, the at least one uniquecharacteristic of the at least one article with a unique productidentifier (UPID) for the at least one article; determining, by thecentral controller, one or more product parameters associated with theat least one article based on the UPID; and determining, by the centralcontroller, at least a sortation destination associated with the atleast one article based on the one or more product parameters.

The above summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing someexample embodiments to provide a basic understanding of some aspects ofthe disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that theabove-described embodiments are merely examples and should not beconstrued to narrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Itwill be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure encompasses manypotential embodiments in addition to those here summarized, some ofwhich will be further described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description of the illustrative embodiments can be read inconjunction with the accompanying figures. It will be appreciated thatfor simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in thefigures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to otherelements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosureare shown and described with respect to the figures presented herein, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a material handling system inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a portion of the materialhandling system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an article in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a central controller inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method for tracking articles in thematerial handling system in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operating a merge in thematerial handling system in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method for operating a sorter in thematerial handling system in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method for detecting and/or monitoringdamages and/or defects in articles in the material handling system inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all, embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, thedisclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements.

The terms “or” and “optionally” are used herein in both alternative andconjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated.

The word “example” or “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as anexample, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described hereinas “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other implementations.

If the specification states a component or feature “may,” “can,”“could,” “should,” “would,” “preferably,” “possibly,” “typically,”“optionally,” “for example,” “in some examples,” “often,” or “might” (orother such language) be included or have a characteristic, that aspecific component or feature is not required to be included or to havethe characteristic. Such component or feature may be optionally includedin some embodiments, or it may be excluded.

The components illustrated in the figures represent components that mayor may not be present in various embodiments of the invention describedherein such that embodiments may include fewer or more components thanthose shown in the figures while not departing from the scope of theinvention.

Turning now to the drawings, the detailed description set forth below inconnection with the appended drawings is intended as a description ofvarious configurations and is not intended to represent the onlyconfigurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced.The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose ofproviding a thorough understanding of various concepts with likenumerals denote like components throughout the several views. However,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts maybe practiced without these specific details.

In many distribution and fulfillment (D&F) centers, products may bereceived into a material handling system for handling. These productsmay arrive in manufacturer's corrugated paper boxes. The boxes may beunloaded from a container and received into the material handling system(often stored) and then shipped back out to form orders for individualsor stores. To process the boxes, indicia (such as a Universal ProductsCode (UPC) printed on the box at the time of manufacture) may be read.When combined with product manifest from that container, a WarehouseManagement System (WMS) may identify the individual boxes of product andmay generate a Unique License Plate Barcode (ULPB). This label may beprinted and then applied to each box. The barcode may be an adhesivelabel, which may contain a unique barcode that may allow an automatedWarehouse Control System (WCS) to track and sort the product to thecorrect destination based on scan points using barcode readers.

However, print and apply label applicators may be a severe bottleneck tothe throughput of a system. They may require substantial capital andmaintenance, expensive labels, expensive barcode readers, and may bedifficult to implement. In addition, the labels may fall off, getsmeared or damaged, resulting in poor read rates at the scan points, andtherefore may require human interaction (and significant labor) toaddress the no-read condition.

In addition, challenges exist in identifying and sorting articles thathave been damaged or deformed in the D&F centers. For example, a productmay be damaged at jam points, due to colliding with other products orload shifting, by failing belts or rollers, and/or the like.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the material handling systemmay utilize one or more cameras and a database of product images touniquely identify products. Identification of the product using camerasat typical system speed may eliminate the requirement to print and applya separate tracking label as well as all of the hardware required toread barcodes. For increased accuracy, the system may also read themanufacturer's UPC barcode on the product (if viewable) to ensureaccurate identification. As such, the disclosed system may eliminate therequirement for barcode reading tunnels at induction, as well as Printand Apply systems to apply Unique License Plate Barcode labels.

Further, in accordance with the present disclosure, the materialhandling system may utilize the one or more cameras to identifypotential damage or defect on the products. Based on the identifieddamage or defect, a portion of the material handling system that causesthe damage or defect may be determined, and system variables may beadjusted to eliminate further damage on the products.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example perspective view of an example materialhandling system 100 in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

In some examples, the example material handling system 100 may include asorter portion 102 for selectively identifying, sorting and/or divertingone or more articles 114 to one of the destinations 108, such as, butnot limited to, takeaway conveyors, chutes, and the like. In someexamples, the diverted articles may be sent to shipping 110 for shippingto a destination, for example, a store. While the example as shown inFIG. 1 may illustrate a paddle sorter, it is noted that the scope of thepresent disclosure is not limited to a paddle sorter. In some examples,other types of sorter(s) may be implemented, including, but not limitedto, pusher/puller sorters, pop-up transfer sorters, and/or cross-beltsorters.

In some examples, the sorter portion 102 may receive the one or morearticles 114 from an induction portion 104 of the example materialhandling system 100, which may be positioned upstream of the sorterportion 102. In some examples, the induction portion 104 may beconfigured to generate spacing between the one or more articles 114,such that each of the one or more articles 114 may be separately sortedby the sorter portion 102. For example, the induction portion 104 maycomprise different types and/or configurations of belt units, which maycreate the required spacing between the one or more articles 114.

In some examples, the induction portion 104 may receive articles 114from a merge portion 106, as shown in FIG. 1. The merge portion 106 mayhave multiple accumulation lanes and/or conveyors for releasing articlesin a slug and/or zipper fashion onto the induction portion 104. In someexamples, the merge portion 106 may receive the one or more articlesfrom a receiving system and/or an automated storage and retrieval system(ASRS). Additionally, or alternatively, the merge portion 106 mayreceive the one or more articles from other sources.

In the example as shown in FIG. 1, the example material handling system100 may include a vision system 112 having one or more cameras forcapturing one or more images of the one or more articles 114 moving fromthe induction portion 104 towards the sorter portion 102. In someexamples, the one or more cameras may be configured to capture one ormore still images and/or video images of the one or more articles 114.

Additionally, or alternatively, the vision system 112 (and/or anothervision system) may be located at different position(s) than as shown inFIG. 1 so that one or more cameras may capture one or more images of theone or more articles 114 moving in the induction portion 104.Additionally, or alternatively, the vision system 112 (and/or anothervision system) may be located at different position(s) than as shown inFIG. 1 so that one or more cameras may capture one or more images of theone or more articles 114 moving in the sorter portion 102. Additionally,or alternatively, the vision system 112 (and/or another vision system)may be located at different position(s) than as shown in FIG. 1 so thatone or more cameras may capture one or more images of the one or morearticles 114 moving in the merge portion 106.

In some examples, one or more components of the example materialhandling system 100, such as, but not limited to, the sorter portion102, the induction portion 104, the merge portion 106, the vision system112, and/or the like, may be communicably coupled to at least one of awarehouse management system 116 and/or a central controller 118. Theterm “communicably coupled” refers to two or more components (forexample, but not limited to, the sorter portion 102, the inductionportion 104, the merge portion 106, the vision system 112, the warehousemanagement system 116 and the central controller 118 as shown in FIG. 1)being connected through wired means (for example but not limited to,wired Ethernet) and/or wireless means (for example but not limited to,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee), such that data and/or information may betransmitted to and/or received from these components.

In some examples, the warehouse management system 116 and/or the centralcontroller 118 may adjust, modify, and/or control a set of systemvariables for the example material handling system 100. The term “systemvariables” refers to parameters associated with the operation of amaterial handling system. Example system variables may include, but notlimited to, speed commands (e.g., conveyor speed, merge speed, sortationspeed, etc.), recirculation commands, sortation commands (e.g.,destination implementation, divert commands, etc.), shut-down commands,accumulation controls, discharge controls, induction controls, chuteactuation, and sensor (e.g., photoeyes) inputs/outputs. For example,system variables associated with the sorter portion 102 may include, butnot limited to, speed commands, recirculation commands, chute actuation,and/or sortation commands described above. As another example, systemvariables associated with the induction portion 104 may include, but notlimited to, speed commands, accumulation controls, and/or inductioncontrols described above. As another example, system variablesassociated with the merge portion 106 may include, but not limited to,speed commands and/or discharge controls described above.

Referring to FIG. 1, images and data captured and recorded by the visionsystem 112 may be utilized to ascertain system performance. The visionsystem 112 may recognize defects in the articles, and may generate analarm if product is being damaged by the system at jam points, failingbelts or rollers, etc. The system may provide statistics to driveoperational decisions based on “visible” product data including (but notlimited to) defect rate, color, branding, dimensions, volume, etc.Example details of which are described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example perspective view of a portion 200 of theexample material handling system 100, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure.

In the example as shown in FIG. 2, one or more articles 114 may beplaced on a conveyor, and may be conveyed in a conveyance directiontowards the vision system 112. In some examples, the conveyor speed maybe 600 feet per minute. In some examples, other conveyor speed may beused. As shown in FIG. 2, there may be spacing between the one or morearticles 114. In some examples, the spacing may be 6 inches between eacharticle. In some examples, other length of spacing may be used.

The vision system 112 may include one or more cameras, such as cameras204 a, 204 b, and 204 c as shown. In some examples, each of cameras 204a, 204 b, and 204 c may be arranged to capture one or more images of anarticle 206 present in a field of view of the cameras 204 a, 204 b, and204 c, such that the cameras 204 a, 204 b, and 204 c may capture imagesof the article 206 from different angles and/or directions. For example,the vision system 112 may capture one to six sides of the article 206.In some examples, the one or more images captured by the cameras 204 a,204 b, and/or 204 c may include still images and/or video images.

While the example as shown in FIG. 2 illustrates three cameras, it isnoted that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to threecameras. It is to be appreciated that, less than three cameras, morethan three cameras, and/or additional or alternative image capturingdevices are within the scope of the present disclosure.

In some examples, capturing of images by the vision system 112 may betriggered in response to detecting that an article 206 is entering ascan zone of the vision system 112. For example, in an embodiment, asensor 202 (such as but not limited to, a photo eye) may be placed at anentry of the scan zone. Thus, when the article 206 passes through thesensor 202, the sensor 202 may detect the presence of the article 206and may trigger image capturing and/or scanning operation of one or moreof the cameras 204 a, 204 b, and/or 204 c. In an embodiment, the sensor202 and the vision system 112 may be communicably coupled to andcontrolled by the central controller 118.

In some examples, the article 206 may include one or more uniquecharacteristics 208, such as, but not limited to, unique brand logos,specific alphanumeric text specific to the product, and the like. Theunique characteristic 208 may include any visually identifiable andunique symbol, data, picture, characteristic, etc. that may beassociated to the article 206. In accordance with the embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the vision system 112 and/or the central controller118 may identify at least one unique characteristic 208 of the article206 by processing one or more images of the article 206 captured by thecameras 204 a, 204 b, and/or 204 c. For example, typical images willcontain unique brand logos, specific alphanumeric text specific to theproduct, and/or other information.

In some examples, the unique characteristic 208 may include preexistingindicia. For example, an example preexisting indicia may be amanufacturer's barcode placed on the article 206. If the vision system112 and/or the central controller 118 identifies a manufacturer barcodeprinted on the article 206, the vision system 112 and/or the centralcontroller 118 may process the barcode, compare it with known productbarcodes stored in a database associated with the central controller118. In some examples, for any articles that may have no barcode orunique images, a preprinted product barcode may be applied (for example,at the time of the product entering the induction portion of thematerial handling system). In these examples, the vision system 112 mayidentify and detect the barcode as the unique characteristic 208 of thearticle 206.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, an example perspective view of thearticle 206 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure is illustrated. The article 206 may comprise one or moreunique characteristics, such as but not limited to, a first uniquecharacteristic 208 a and a second unique characteristic 208 b. Forexample, the first unique characteristic 208 a may include a brand logoand the second unique characteristic 208 b may include a preexistingbarcode.

Referring back to FIG. 2, in some examples, the distance between theproduct induction point (i.e. the sensor 202) and the required datatransmit point (e.g. when the article may reach the first divert in thesorter portion 102) may be determined and/or adjusted based on the imageprocessing speed of the images captured by the vision system. Forexample, the faster the image processing speed, the faster that articles114 may be identified and tracked, and the shorter the distance isrequired. In some examples, the distance may be 1.6 feet. In someexamples, other distances may be used. Additional details are describedin connection with at least FIG. 5.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example schematic block diagram of a centralcontroller 118 for controlling the operation of the example materialhandling system 100 in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The central controller 118 may include at least aprocessor 402, a memory 404, a communication module 406, and aninput/output module 408 as shown in FIG. 4.

In some examples, the processor 402 may be configured (with processorexecutable instructions) to perform operations described herein. Theprocessor 402 may, for example, be embodied as various means includingone or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signalprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digitalsignal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-coreprocessors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or morecomputers, various other processing elements including integratedcircuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit) or FPGA (field programmable gate array), and/or somecombination thereof. Accordingly, although illustrated in FIG. 4 as asingle processor, in some embodiments, the processor 402 may comprise aplurality of processors. The plurality of processors may be embodied ona single device or may be distributed across a plurality of devices. Theplurality of processors may be in operative communication with eachother, and may be collectively configured to perform one or morefunctionalities of the central controller 118 as described herein. In anexample embodiment, the processor 402 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory 404 or otherwise accessible to theprocessor 402. These instructions, when executed by the processor 402,may cause the central controller 118 to perform one or more of thefunctionalities of the central controller 118, as will be described withreference to at least FIGS. 5-8.

In some examples, the memory 404 may comprise, for example, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, or some combination thereof. Althoughillustrated in FIG. 4 as a single memory, the memory 404 may comprise aplurality of memory components. The plurality of memory components maybe embodied on a single device or distributed across a plurality ofdevices. In various embodiments, the memory 404 may comprise, forexample, a hard disk, random access memory, cache memory, read onlymemory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) andelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, a compact disc read only memory(CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM), an opticaldisc, circuitry configured to store information, or some combinationthereof. The memory 404 may be configured to store information, data(including item data and/or profile data), applications, instructions,or the like for enabling central controller 118 to carry out variousfunctions in accordance with example embodiments of the presentinvention. For example, in at least some embodiments, the memory 404 maybuffer input data for processing by the processor 402. Additionally, oralternatively, in at least some embodiments, the memory 404 may storeprogram instructions for execution by the processor 402. The memory 404may store information in the form of static and/or dynamic information.This information may be stored and/or used by the central controller 118at least during the course of performing its functionalities.

In an embodiment, the memory 404 (and/or an external data storagedevice) may include a database of product images stored in a systemtraining phase, known preexisting product barcodes, brand logos, andother similar visual identifiers. For example, the database maycorrelate the visual identifiers to a unique product identifier (LIPID),as described herein. In an embodiment, the database of customer productmay be built for the system to use during operation. This database maybe unique to each customer, and/or may be applicable to multiple siteswithin that customer network.

In an embodiment, the memory 404 (and/or an external data storagedevice) may store preexisting defect templates. In some examples, theprocessor 402 may retrieve the preexisting defect templates to identifyvisual defect indicators from images, details of which are describedherein.

The communication module 406 may be embodied as any device or meansembodied in circuitry, hardware, a computer program product comprisingcomputer readable program instructions stored on a computer readablemedium (e.g., the memory 404) and executed by a processing device (e.g.,the processor 402), or a combination thereof that is configured toreceive and/or transmit data from/to another device and/or network. Insome embodiments, the communication module 406 (like other componentsdiscussed herein) can be at least partially embodied as or otherwisecontrolled by the processor 402. In this regard, the communicationmodule 406 may be in communication with the processor 402, such as via abus. The communication module 406 may include, for example, an antenna,a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, network interface card and/orsupporting hardware and/or firmware/software for enabling communicationswith another device. The communication module 406 may be configured toreceive and/or transmit any data that may be stored by the memory 404using any protocol that may be used for communications between devices.The communication module 406 may additionally or alternatively be incommunication with the memory 404, the input/output module 408 and/orany other component of the central controller 118 via wired and/orwireless means (for example, a system bus).

The input/output module 408 may be in communication with the processor402 to receive an indication of a user input and/or to provide anaudible, visual, mechanical, or other output to a user. For example, theinput/output module 408 may include support for a keyboard, a mouse, ajoystick, a display, a touch screen display, a microphone, a speaker, aradio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, a barcode reader, abiometric scanner and/or other input/output mechanisms. In exampleswhere the central controller 118 is embodied as a server or database,aspects of input/output module 408 may be reduced as compared toexamples where the central controller 118 is implemented as an end-usermachine (e.g., remote worker device and/or employee device) or othertype of device designed for complex user interactions.

In some examples, the input/output module 408 may be eliminated from thecentral controller 118 (similar to other components discussed herein).Alternatively, such as in embodiments wherein the central controller 118is embodied as a server or database, at least some aspects ofinput/output module 408 may be embodied on an apparatus used by a userthat is in communication with the central controller 118. Theinput/output module 408 may be in communication with the memory 404, thecommunication module 406, and/or any other component(s) via wired and/orwireless means (such as via a bus). In some examples, more than oneinput/output module and/or other component may be included in thecentral controller 118.

The central controller 118 may include an artificial component that usesat least one of artificial intelligence or machine learning to at leastone of identify the at least one unique characteristic, associate the atleast one unique characteristic with a UPID, and/or identify visualdefect indicators. For example, the system may “learn” product as itpasses through the vision system, and/or an operator may “teach” thesystem to build the database of images and corresponding UPID numbers.Once the system has been trained, the database may contain a completelist of product images and corresponding UPID numbers. As anotherexample, the system may “learn” to identify visual defect indicatorsfrom images, details of which are described herein.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,embodiments of the present invention may be configured as methods,personal computers, servers, mobile devices, backend network devices,and the like. Accordingly, embodiments may comprise various meansincluding entirely of hardware or any combination of software andhardware. Furthermore, embodiments may take the form of a computerprogram product on at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium having computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computersoftware) embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized including non-transitory hard disks,CD-ROMs, flash. memory, optical storage devices, or magnetic storagedevices.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described above withreference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatuses, systems and computer program goods. It will be understoodthat each block of the circuit diagrams and process flowcharts, andcombinations of blocks in the circuit diagrams and process flowcharts,respectively, can be implemented by various means including computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus (such as the processor 402 asdiscussed above with reference to FIG. 4) to produce a machine, suchthat the computer program product includes the instructions whichexecute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatuscreate a means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchartblock or blocks.

In some examples, these computer program instructions may be stored in acomputer-readable storage device (e.g., the memory 404 as discussedabove with reference to FIG. 4) that may direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablestorage device may produce an article of manufacture including computerreadable instructions for implementing the function discussed herein.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that theinstructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions discussed herein.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions, andprogram instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each block of the circuit diagrams andprocess flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the circuit diagramsand process flowcharts, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions orsteps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 for tracking one or morearticles in an example material handling system (such as, but notlimited to, the example material handling system 100 as illustrated inFIG. 1) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The method 500 may include receiving at least one article on aninduction portion of an example material handling system at block 502.For example, one or more articles 206 may be received on the inductionportion 104 of the example material handling system 100 as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

The method 500 may include capturing one or more images of the at leastone article at block 504. For example, the vision system 112 of theexample material handling system 100 may capture one or more images ofthe at least one article 206 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The method 500 may include identifying, by an example central controllercommunicably coupled to an example vision system, at least one uniquecharacteristic of the at least one article from the one or more imagesat block 506. For example, the central controller 118 and/or visionsystem 112 may identify at least one unique characteristic 208 of the atleast one article 206 from the one or more images captured by the visionsystem 112 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In some examples, identifying the at least one unique characteristic mayinclude processing the one or more images captured by the vision systemto detect one or more visual identifiers present on the at least onearticle. In another embodiment, identifying the at least one uniquecharacteristic may include processing the one or more images captured bythe vision system to detect at least one preexisting indicia placed onthe at least one article.

In some examples, the at least one unique characteristic may beidentified based at least on image recognition algorithms. For example,the central controller 118 may implement an image classifier to identifythe at least one unique characteristic. Additionally, or alternatively,other image recognition algorithms may be utilized, including, but notlimited to, an artificial neural network, deep learning algorithms,and/or the like.

For example, referring back to FIG. 3, the one or more visualidentifiers of the article 206 may include at least the first uniquecharacteristic 208 a, which may be a brand logo. The one or morepreexisting indicia placed on the article 206 may include the secondunique characteristic 208 b, which may include a preexisting barcode.

The method 500 may include associating, by the central controller, theat least one unique characteristic of the at least one article with aunique product identifier (UPID) for the at least one article at block508. For example, the central controller 118 may associate the at leastone unique characteristic 208 of the at least one article 206 with aunique product identifier (UPID) for the at least one article 206 asshown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the central controller may generate a UPID. The term“UPID” may refer to a virtual identifier, such as a product ID number,alphanumeric text, etc., created by an example central controller (suchas the central controller 118 as shown in FIG. 1) and/or any associatedcomponent of the material handling system (such as the material handlingsystem 100 as shown in FIG. 1) for uniquely identifying and/or trackingeach article being handled and/or conveyed in a distribution center bythe example material handling system (such as the material handlingsystem 100 as shown in FIG. 1). In some examples, a UPID may be in theform of an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)text, a pointer, a memory address, or the like.

In some examples, associating the at least one unique characteristic ofthe at least one article with the UPID may further include the centralcontroller comparing the at least one unique characteristic with one ormore preexisting images comprising unique characteristics data, whichmay be stored in the database associated with the central controller asdescribed above. In some examples, the central controller may identifyat least one preexisting image having unique characteristics datacorresponding to the at least one unique characteristic. In someexamples, the central controller may determine a UPID (stored in thedatabase) associated with the preexisting image, and may associate theUPID with the at least one unique characteristic of the at least onearticle.

It should be noted that the processing speed of the images captured bythe vision system may be determined and/or adjusted by the centralcontroller, as there may be limited time to capture the images, processthem by comparing them to the ones stored in the database, and return aUPID number to the system. In some examples, the WMS may require time toprocess the UPID and return a sort destination, for example, based onthe UPID data. In some examples, destination data must be returned bythe time point that the article reaches the first divert (otherwise anerror may occur), as discussed above in connection with FIG. 2. In anembodiment, the performance criteria may be a factor of the throughput(articles/minute), conveyor speed (sorter speed), product gap, distancefrom induction to first divert, time to travel from induction to firstdivert, central controller lookup time, target image capture and/orprocessing time, etc. In some examples, the throughput may be 300cartons per minute, the conveyor speed may be 600 feet per minute, theproduct gap may be 6 inches, the distance from induction to first divertmay be 11.6 feet, the time to travel from induction to first divert maybe 1.16 seconds. In some examples, other values of these parameters maybe used.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method 600 for operating a merge in anexample material handling system (such as, but not limited to, the mergeportion 106 in the example material handling system 100 as shown inFIG. 1) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The method 600 may include receiving at least one article on theinduction portion of the example material handling system at block 602.For example, the one or more articles 206 may be received on theinduction portion 104 of the example material handling system 100, asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In some examples, the induction portion may be downstream of the mergeportion. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the induction portion 104 maybe downstream of the merge portion 106 in the traveling direction of thearticles 114.

The method 600 may include capturing, by an example vision system of theexample material handling system, one or more images of the at least onearticle at block 604. For example, the vision system 112 of the examplematerial handling system 100 may capture one or more images of the atleast one article 206 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

The method 600 may include identifying at least one uniquecharacteristic of at least one article based on the one or more imagescaptured by the vision system at block 606. In some examples, the atleast one unique characteristic may be identified by an example centralcontroller communicably coupled to the example vision system and/or themerge. For example, the central controller 118 and/or vision system 112may identify at least one unique characteristic 208 of the at least onearticle 206 from the one or more images captured by the vision system112 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the at least one unique characteristic may beidentified by the central controller similar to those described above inconnection with block 506 of FIG. 5.

The method 600 may include associating, by an example centralcontroller, the at least one unique characteristic of the at least onearticle with a unique product identifier (UPID) for the at least onearticle at block 608. For example, the central controller 118 mayassociate the at least one unique characteristic 208 of the at least onearticle 206 with a unique product identifier (UPID) for the at least onearticle 206 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the at least one unique characteristic of at least onearticle may be associated with the UPID similar to those described abovein connection with block 508 of FIG. 5.

The method 600 may include determining, by an example centralcontroller, one or more product parameters associated with the at leastone article based on the UPID at block 610. For example, the centralcontroller 118 may determine one or more product parameters associatedwith the at least one article 206 based on the UPID as shown in FIGS.1-2.

The term “product parameters” as used herein may refer to characteristicassociated with a product, such as, but not limited to, weight, length,width, coefficient of friction, etc. In some examples, the centralcontroller may determine the one or more product parameters from adatabase that store product parameters associated with products in thematerial handling system. In some examples, the one or more productparameters may be retrieved from the database based on the UPID.

The method 600 may include adjusting at least one merge variableassociated with the merge portion based on the one or more productparameters at block 612. For example, the central controller 118 mayadjust at least one merge variable associated with the merge portion 106based on the one or more product parameters as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

The term “merge variable” as used herein may refer to any systemvariable associated with a merge portion and/or associated systems (suchas the merge portion 106 illustrated above in connection with FIG. 1).For example, merge variable may include product spacing, speed,acceleration, merging mode, etc. associated with the merge portion 106and/or systems upstream and/or downstream of the merge portion 106. Ahigh-speed merge in a typical D&F system may require product be spacedand optimized to maximize throughput and efficiency into the sortationsystem. Knowing the specific product details of the incoming upstreamproduct (weight, length, width, coefficient of friction, etc. wouldallow the system to optimize the carton delivery to ensure productreaches maximum throughput by adjusting merge variables.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method 700 for operating a sorter in anexample material handling system (such as, but not limited to, thesorter portion 102 in the example material handling system 100 as shownin FIG. 1) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The method 700 may include receiving at least one article on an exampleinduction portion of an example material handling system at block 702.For example, at least one article 206 may be received on the inductionportion 104 of the example material handling system 100 as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

In an embodiment, the induction portion 104 may be upstream of thesorter portion 102. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the inductionportion 104 may be upstream of the sorter portion 102 in the travelingdirection of the articles 114.

The method 700 may include capturing, by an example vision system of anexample material handling system, one or more images of at least onearticle at block 704. For example, the vision system 112 of the examplematerial handling system 100 may capture one or more images of the atleast one article 206 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

The method 700 may include identifying, by a central controller and/or avision system, at least one unique characteristic of at least onearticle from the one or more images captured by the example visionsystem at block 706. For example, the central controller 118 and/or thevision system 112 may identify at least one unique characteristic 208 ofthe at least one article 206 from the one or more images captured by thevision system 112 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the at least one unique characteristic may beidentified by the central controller similar to those described above inconnection with block 506 of FIG. 5.

The method 700 may include associating, by an example centralcontroller, the at least one unique characteristic of at least onearticle with a unique product identifier (UPID) for the at least onearticle at block 708. For example, the central controller 118 mayassociate the at least one unique characteristic 208 of the at least onearticle 206 with a unique product identifier (UPID) for the at least onearticle 206 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the at least one unique characteristic of at least onearticle may be associated with the UPID similar to those described abovein connection with block 508 of FIG. 5.

The method 700 may include determining, by an example centralcontroller, one or more product parameters associated with at least onearticle based on the UPID at block 710. For example, the centralcontroller 118 may determine one or more product parameters associatedwith the at least one article 206 based on the UPID as shown in FIGS.1-2.

In some examples, the one or more product parameters may be determinedsimilar to those described above in connection with block 610 of FIG. 6.

The method 700 may include determining, by an example centralcontroller, at least a sortation destination associated with the atleast one article based on the one or more product parameters at block712. For example, the central controller 118 may determine at least asortation destination associated with the at least one article 206 basedon the one or more product parameters as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the sortation destination may be determined by thecentral controller based at least in part on the UPID of the article.For example, the central controller may retrieve sortation destinationparameters from a database based on the UPID, and may adjust thesortation destination of the sorter portion for the article. As anexample, the sorter portion 102 may discharge all articles of the samecolor and/or branding to a specific discharge lane based on the UPIDinformation.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 for detecting, monitoringand/or handling defects and/or damages in one or more articles in anexample material handling system (such as, but not limited to, theexample material handling system 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1) inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

The method 800 may include receiving one or more articles at block 802.

In some examples, the one or more articles may be received on an exampleinduction portion of an example material handling system. For example,the one or more article 206 may be received on the induction portion 104of the example material handling system 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Additionally, or alternatively, the one or more articles may be receivedon one or more portions other than the induction portion of an examplematerial handling system. For example, one or more articles may bereceived in a sorter portion of the material handling system. As anotherexample, one or more articles may be received in a merge portion of thematerial handling system.

The method 800 may include capturing one or more images of the one ormore articles at block 804. In some examples, the one or more images maybe captured by an example vision system of an example material handlingsystem. For example, the vision system 112 of the example materialhandling system 100 may capture one or more images of the at least onearticle 206 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the vision system may capture at least a first imageof the at least one article at a first portion of an example materialhandling system and a second image of the at least one article at asecond portion of the example material handling system.

As an example, the first image may be captured at a merge portion of thematerial handling system (for example, the merge portion 106 of theexample material handling system 100 as shown above in connection withFIG. 1), and the second image may be capture at an induction portion ofthe material handling system (for example, the induction portion 104 asshown above in connection with FIG. 1).

Additionally, or alternatively, the first image may be captured at aninduction portion of the material handling system (for example, theinduction portion 104 of the example material handling system 100 asshown above in connection with FIG. 1), and the second image may becaptured at the sorter portion of the material handling system (forexample, the sorter portion 102 as shown above in connection with FIG.1).

Additionally, or alternatively, the first image may be captured at amerge portion of the material handling system (for example, the mergeportion 106 of the example material handling system 100 as shown abovein connection with FIG. 1), and the second image may be captured at thesorter portion of the material handling system (for example, the sorterportion 102 as shown above in connection with FIG. 1).

Additionally, or alternatively, the first image and the second image maybe captured at different locations in the same portion of the materialhandling system. For example, the first image and the second image maybe captured at different locations of the sorter portion 102 of theexample material handling system 100 described above in connection withFIG. 1. As another example, the first image and the second image may becaptured at different locations of the induction portion 104 of theexample material handling system 100 described above in connection withFIG. 1. As another example, the first image and the second image may becaptured at different locations of the merge portion 106 of the examplematerial handling system 100 described above in connection with FIG. 1.

Additionally, or alternatively, the first image and the second image maybe captured at the same location/portion of the material handling systembut at different times. For example, referring back to FIG. 1, thevision system 112 may capture one or more images of each of the articles114 as they move within the field of view of the vision system 112.

While the examples illustrated above describe two images being capturedby the vision system, it is noted that the scope of the presentdisclosure is not limited to two images only. In some examples, thevision system may capture less than two or more than two images at thesame or different portions of the material handling system.

For example, the vision system may capture a first image at a firstportion of the material handling system, a second image at a secondportion of the material handling system, and a third image at a thirdportion of the material handling system. As another example, the visionsystem may capture a first image at a first location of the materialhandling system, a second image at a second location of the materialhandling system, and a third image at a third location of the materialhandling system. In this example, the first location, the secondlocation, and/or the third location may be associated with the sameportion of the material handling system.

As another example, the vision system may capture a first image at afirst time, a second image at a second time, and a third image at athird time. In this example, the first image, the second image, and/orthe third image may be associated with the same location/portion ordifferent locations/portions of the material handling system.

The method 800 may include identifying at least one visual defectindicator on at least one article of the one or more articles at block806. In some examples, the at least one visual defect indicator may beidentified by an example central controller and/or an example visionsystem. For example, the central controller 118 and/or vision system 112may identify at least one visual defect indicator on the at least onearticle 206 based on the one or more images captured by the visionsystem 112 as shown in FIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, the at least one visual defect indicator may beidentified based on the one or more images captured by the visionsystem. For example, as described above, the vision system may captureat least a first image at a first portion/location of the materialhandling system and a second image at a second portion/location of thematerial handling system. The central controller and/or the visionsystem may compare the first image with the second image. The centralcontroller may identify one or more differences between the first imageand the second image.

For example, referring back to FIG. 1, the central controller 118 mayidentify at least one unique characteristic associate with each articleand/or may associate each article with a unique product identifier asdescribed above. As such, the central controller 118 may track thearticles as they move within the example material handling system 100,and may identify each article in the images. For example, the centralcontroller 118 may identify the same article as appearing in differentimages, and may analyze these images to determine whether there is adifference on the appearance of this article.

In some examples, the central controller and/or the vision system mayclassify the one or more differences as a visual defect indicator. Theterm “visual defect indicator” refers to a visual indication that anarticle may have been damaged, deformed, blemished, and/or not in thedesired condition.

In some examples, the visual defect indicator may be classified by thecentral controller based at least on one or more preexisting defecttemplates. The term “preexisting defect template” refers to anelectronic document and/or computer program that may comprise parametersassociated with identifying a defect or damage on an article. In someexamples, a central controller (such as the central controller 118 asshown in FIGS. 1-2) may store the preexisting defect template in a datastorage unit (such as the memory 404 as shown in FIG. 2).

For example, a preexisting defect template may be in the form of anartificial neural network that has been trained to extract imagefeatures associated with product damage or deformation. In this example,a central controller (such as the central controller 118) may providethe one or more differences to the artificial neural network as input,and the artificial neural network may provide an output indicatingwhether the differences can be classified as a visual defect indicator.

As another example, a preexisting defect template may be in the form ofan image that the central controller (such as the central controller118) has previously identified as showing product damage or deformation.In this example, the computer apparatus may extract features from thepreexisting defect template, and may determine whether these featuresmatch the one or more differences as identified in the one or moreimages.

Additionally, or alternatively, a preexisting defect template may be inother forms, including, but not limited to, one or more pixel values,one or more image descriptors, and/or one or more metadata associatedwith images that the central controller (such as the central controller118) has previously identified as showing product damage or deformation.Additionally, or alternatively, a preexisting defect template may be inthe form of an ASCII text, a pointer, a memory address, or the like.

In some examples, a central controller (such as the central controller118 as shown in FIGS. 1-2) may associate a visual defect indicator of anarticle with at least one unique characteristic or a unique productidentifier of the article. For example, at described above in connectionwith at least block 506 of FIG. 5, the central controller may identifyat least one unique characteristic of the at least one article. Prior toor subsequent to identifying the at least one unique characteristic, thecentral controller may identify the at least one visual defect indicatoras described in connection with at least block 806.

In some examples, a central controller (such as the central controller118) may update the preexisting defect template based on the visualdefect indicators. Continuing from the above example of artificialneural network, after the central controller has classified the one ormore differences as a visual defect indicator, the central controllermay train the artificial neural network based on the one or moredifferences to improve its accuracy.

In some examples, the central controller may identify the visual defectindicator by at least processing the one or more images to detect one ormore preexisting indicia on the at least one article. For example, thepreexisting indicia may be a manufacture's warning label printed on thearticle. As an example, the warning label may indicate that the articleis perishable. In this example, the central controller may detect one ormore differences between images of the article. Based on the warninglabel and the one or more differences, the central controller mayclassify the one or more differences as a visual defect indicator.

The method 800 may include determining an indication based at least onthe at least one visual defect indicator at block 808.

In some examples, the indication may be an electronic indication in theform of, for example, but not limited to, an ASCII text, a pointer, amemory address, or the like. In some examples, the indication mayindicate and/or correspond to at least one of (1) a defect of the atleast one article, and/or (2) a portion of the material handling systemcausing the defect. For example, the central controller 118 maydetermine an indication of at least one of a defect of the at least onearticle and/or the portion of the example material handling system 100causing the defect based on the visual defect indicator as shown inFIGS. 1-2.

In some examples, a central controller (such as the central controller118) may determine the defect of the at least one article based at leaston the visual defect indicator. As described above, the visual defectindicator may be determined based at least in part on one or moredifferences between the images. In this example, the central controllermay determine a section of the article that contains a defect based onthe location of the one or more differences in the images.

Additionally, or alternatively, the central controller may determine acharacteristic of the defect as part of the indication based on thevisual defect indicator. For example, the indication may indicate thatthe packaging of the article is deformed.

In some examples, a central controller (such as the central controller118) may determine the portion of the material handling system thatcauses the defect or damage on the at least one article based at leaston the one or more images. For example, the central controller maydetermine the portion of the material handling system causing the defectbased at least on the location(s) or portion(s) in the material handlingsystem where the images were captured.

Continuing from the first/second images example above, if the firstimage is captured at a first portion of the material handling system andthe second image is captured at a second portion of the materialhandling system, the central controller (such as the central controller118) may determine a portion between the first portion and the secondportion as the portion of the material handling system causing thedefect or damage. For example, referring to FIG. 1, if the centralcontroller 118 captures the first image at the merge portion 106 and thesecond image at the sorter portion 102, and identifies a visual defectindicator on the article, the central controller 118 may determine theinduction portion 104 (which is between the merge portion 106 and thesorter portion 102) as the portion of the material handling system thatmay cause the defect.

In some examples, a central controller (such as the central controller118) may perform one or more operations based on the indication.

For example, the central controller may modify at least one systemvariable associated with the material handling system based on theindication. As an example, the central controller may modify at leastone system variable associated with at least the portion of the materialhandling system causing the defect. For example, if the centralcontroller identifies the sorter portion as the portion causing thedefect, the central controller may adjust the speed of the sorterportion to eliminate further damage to the articles.

Additionally, or alternatively, the central controller may modify atleast one merge variable associated with a merge portion of the materialhandling system. For example, merge variable may include productspacing, speed, acceleration, merging mode, etc. associated with themerge portion 106 and/or systems upstream and/or downstream of the mergeportion 106 as illustrated in FIG. 1. As an example, the centralcontroller 118 may adjust the discharge control of the merge portion 106to increase the space between articles being released to the inductionportion 104 so that the articles will not be damaged due to articlecollision.

Additionally, or alternatively, the central controller may retrieve oneor more product parameters (for example, based on the LIPID as describedabove), and adjust the at least one system variable based in part on theindication and the one or more product parameters. For example, thecentral controller may adjust the speed of an induction portion (forexample, the induction portion 104 as described above in connection withFIG. 1) based on length and width of the product to maximize thethroughput of the material handling system without causing articlecollision.

Additionally, or alternatively, the central controller may determine atleast a sortation destination associated with the at least one articlebased on the indication. For example, referring back to FIG. 1, thecentral controller 118 may cause the sorter portion 102 to sort thearticle with defect to one of the destinations 108 that is specificallyfor receiving damaged articles (for example, a bin that may storedamaged articles for manual inspection). In other words, the sorterportion 102 may identify all damaged articles and discharge them on aspecific sortation destination. In some examples, the sortationdestination associated with the at least one article is different fromat least one sortation destination associated with other articles of theone or more articles. For example, the sorter portion 102 of FIG. 1 mayseparate damaged articles from other undamaged articles.

Additionally, or alternatively, the central controller may trigger awarning based on the indication. For example, the central controller maycause a speaker that is installed in proximity of the material handlingsystem to output an audio alarm, indicating that one or more articlesmay contain defect or have been damaged.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

References within the specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “embodiments,” or “one or more embodiments” are intended toindicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of such phrases invarious places within the specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, variousfeatures are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments andnot by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which maybe requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” and other derivatives from the rootterm “comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify thepresence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, orcomponents, and are not intended to preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, orgroups thereof.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the inventionherein disclosed fulfill the objectives stated above, it will beappreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may bedevised by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, it will beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and embodiments, which come within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method, comprising: receiving at least onearticle on an induction portion of the material handling system;capturing, by a vision system of the material handling system, one ormore images of the at least one article; identifying, by a centralcontroller communicably coupled to the vision system, at least oneunique characteristic of the at least one article from the one or moreimages captured by the vision system; and associating, by the centralcontroller, the at least one unique characteristic of the at least onearticle with a unique product identifier for the at least one article.22. The method of claim 21, wherein the induction portion is downstreamof a merge of the material handling system.
 23. The method of claim 21,wherein the induction portion is upstream of a merge of the materialhandling system.
 24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:identifying at least one visual defect indicator on the at least onearticle, wherein the visual defect indicator is associated with aproduct defect.
 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:determining an indication based on the visual defect indicator.
 26. Themethod of claim 21, further comprising: determining, by the centralcontroller, one or more product parameters associated with the at leastone article based on the unique product identifier.
 27. The method ofclaim 26, further comprising: adjusting, by the central controller, atleast one merge variable associated with a merge of the materialhandling system based on the one or more product parameters.
 28. Themethod of claim 26, further comprising: determining, by the centralcontroller, a sortation destination associated with the at least onearticle based on the one or more product parameters.
 29. An apparatuscomprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memorycomprising program code, wherein the at least one non-transitory memoryand the program code are configured to, with the at least one processor,cause the apparatus to at least: cause an induction portion of amaterial handling system to receive an article; cause to be captured, byan imaging system of the material handling system, an image of thearticle; determine, by a central controller communicably coupled to theimage system, a unique characteristic of the article from the imagecaptured by the image system; and associating, by the centralcontroller, the unique characteristic of the article with a uniqueproduct identifier for an article type associated with the article. 30.The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the induction portion is downstreamof a merge of the material handling system.
 31. The apparatus of claim29, wherein the induction portion is upstream of a merge of the materialhandling system.
 32. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least onenon-transitory memory and the program code are configured to, with theat least one processor, cause the apparatus to further determine atleast one visual defect indicator on the article, wherein the visualdefect indicator is associated with a product defect.
 33. The method ofclaim 32, wherein the at least one non-transitory memory and the programcode are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause theapparatus to further determine an indication based on the visual defectindicator.
 34. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least onenon-transitory memory and the program code are configured to, with theat least one processor, cause the apparatus to further determine aproduct parameter associated with the article based on the uniqueproduct identifier.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the at least onenon-transitory memory and the program code are configured to, with theat least one processor, cause the apparatus to further adjust a mergevariable associated with a merge of the material handling system basedon the product parameter.
 36. The method of claim 34, wherein the atleast one non-transitory memory and the program code are configured to,with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to furtherdetermine a sortation destination associated with the article based onproduct parameter.
 37. A computer program product comprising at leastone non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable program code portions stored therein, thecomputer-readable program code portions comprising an executable portionconfigured to: cause an induction portion of a material handling systemto receive an article; cause to be captured, by an imaging system of thematerial handling system, an image of the article; determine, by acentral controller communicably coupled to the image system, a uniquecharacteristic of the article from the image captured by the imagesystem; and associating, by the central controller, the uniquecharacteristic of the article with a unique product identifier for anarticle type associated with the article.
 38. The apparatus of claim 37,wherein the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code areconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus tofurther determine at least one visual defect indicator on the article,wherein the visual defect indicator is associated with a product defect.39. The method of claim 37, wherein the at least one non-transitorymemory and the program code are configured to, with the at least oneprocessor, cause the apparatus to further determine an indication basedon the visual defect indicator.
 40. The method of claim 37, wherein theat least one non-transitory memory and the program code are configuredto, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to furtherdetermine a product parameter associated with the article based on theunique product identifier and adjust a merge variable associated with amerge of the material handling system based on the product parameter.